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Minnesota Native Landscapes to Bring Goats Back to Normandale to Control Buckthorn Growth

For the third year in a row, Minnesota Native Landscapes is bringing the goats back to Normandale's campus to help control the buckthorn growth by the hiking trail area (located to left side when you enter the Partnership Center Parking Lots 3 & 4).

The goats arrived on Tuesday, August 30. They will be on-campus for 3-4 weeks, and the goal is 14 acres. The goats are grazing where they were in year one to go after any regrowth. That area has been seeded with native grasses. We will do the "year 2" section net spring. The fencing will be moved north as the grazing progress.  Buckthorn is an invasive, non-native plant that takes over the understory of the woods choking out native plants. It is listed as a noxious weed by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture requiring us to control the spread and maturation of buckthorn. It also eliminates plant diversity over time. We have chosen to use the goats as a solution instead of herbicides to control its spread.

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